Hero
by sunwindandwaves
Summary: There were almost definitely too many enemies for them to handle. But then, that’s why he’d come. To save what was left of his best friend. Canon. Oneshot.


_Disclaimer: I have lots of stuff to disclaim this time. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it, and I found the script for this online, attached to and I used it for reference. So, mucho thanks to DJ Firewolf, who apparently wrote it. _

Hero

There were almost _definitely_ too many enemies for them to handle. But then, that's why he'd come. To save that punk's skinny ass.

"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!" Axel shouted at Sora, throwing himself at the army of Nobodies, chakrams blazing. The kid was beside him, fighting hard. This was it, Axel though, burning through two Dusks at once. The ultimate act of betrayal. He'd finally picked a side, and this was the one he'd chosen.

"Get goin'!" he urged. Sora looked at him warily even as he fended off attacks.

"Why?" Sora asked. Axel groaned. Stupid kid. Couldn't he tell that he was trying to _help _him?

"Don't ask! Just do it!" Sora had a thicker head than Roxas. Aww man, why was Axel _here?_ By all rights, he should be back at the castle in the World That Never Was, possibly taking a hot shower or watching a movie. If the Superior wanted to let the Dusks tear Sora apart, who was he to stop him?

And yet, there Axel was, taking on hundreds, thousands of lesser Nobodies just to keep him alive. The punk had better be grateful, Axel thought, going down under the combined weight of seven Dusks.

Before Axel knew what had happened, Sora had rushed over and knocked the Nobodies away. He offered his hand.

"You okay?" he asked, seemingly comfortable despite their dire situation.

Axel seized his hand and pulled himself up. "Look, I kidnapped Kairi but she got away from me. After that, Saïx caught her. He's a member of Organization XIII. Saïx. Got it memorized? Now go save her!"

Expressions of shock and suspicion crossed Sora's face rapidly before he nodded, accepting what Axel had said. The boy was seriously trusting. He wouldn't have made it two days in Axel's shoes.

A Dusk lunged at the pair, and without pausing Sora swung his arm around and bashed it away. "Leave us alone!" he yelled at the horde. Well, maybe he would've lasted a few days. Sora catapulted into the mass of Nobodies, Keyblade swinging. Axel followed him, taking out a few Dusks on the way.

There were more Dusks than he could count, more than Vexen could've calculated even _existed_. Or not existed. Whatever. They were still there, still trying to kill them, and still extended past the horizon line. Though, Axel had to admit, in the Betwixt and Between, there really was no horizon, just an ever shifting pattern of color and data.

He dropped into his slouched stance, twirling his chakrams around his hands. A Dusk rushed him, and he clapped them together a let loose a wall of fire, sending it into nothingness. Another Dusk scratched at him from behind, and he whirled around, slicing it in two before it fizzled out of non-existence. Sora was holding his own a little way away from him, taking out almost as many as he was. Normally, Dusks wouldn't stand a chance against Axel, but with this many, it might be close. Axel smiled as he warped behind a Dusk and killed it. The look in Sora's eyes was as familiar to Axel as his own face. Sora fought just like his Nobody.

"Behind you!" Axel shouted, dashing over to Sora and burning a Dusk who had been trying to sneak up on him.

It was almost like training, way back when, Axel mused, hovering in the air for a moment before descending on his enemies surrounded by flames. When he and Roxas were still best friends.

"I think I liked it better when they were on _my_ side," Axel said to Sora. They were back to back, facing the never-ending stream of Nobodies.

"Feeling a little…regret?" Sora looked sideways at Axel, with a smirk on his face.

"Nah…I can handle these punks. Watch this!" There was no going back now. Not only did he tell Sora where his pretty little girlfriend was, he helped him get there. He'd turned his back on the Organization, and he was in way over his head with the whole situation. He somersaulted into the air, landing in a circle of Dusks. Sora was in danger, and therefore Roxas. That just wasn't a viable option for Axel at this point.

He dredged up the last of his energy, and flames began to crackle around his body. Gotta get rid of the Nobodies. That's the last of it…he thought, and with a flash, the flames around him exploded.

"Aaaaaaaaaaargh!"

The world around Sora was bright white. "Whoa." That Axel had to be tougher than he looked if he pulled off an attack like that. He looked around in surprise. The Dusks were all gone. That really _was_ one heck of an attack. Then something caught his eye.

Axel was on his back on the ground, several yards away. Sora ran over, half expecting Axel to get up and shake it off. He knelt next to him. Dark tendrils were rising off Axel's body, trailing into the air.

"You're…fading away," Sora said disbelievingly.

"Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean?" Axel said nonchalantly. "Not that Nobodies actually _have_ beings…right? Anyway, I digress." A trace of bitterness crept into Axel's voice, but he shook it off. "Go. Find Kairi. Oh…almost forgot. Sorry for what I did to her."

"When we find her, you can tell her yourself!" Sora said determinedly.

"Think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one." Axel laughed quietly. Sora could kid himself all he wanted. There was no way Axel was gonna be finding anyone at this point.

"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora asked, his voice subdued. It was dawning on him that his new friend wasn't going to make it.

"I wanted to see Roxas." Axel might as well be honest. Sora was looking down at him with those blue eyes, just like Roxas's. "He…was the only one I liked…. He made me feel…like I had a heart. It's kind of…funny. You make me feel…the same." Focus, he thought. "Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now go."

He summoned up a spark of energy and held up his hand, creating a portal.

"Axel…"

Good luck, kid. As Axel vanished, Sora's brown hair seemed to turn blonde, then back again.

Bye, Roxas.

Hope you miss me.

**A/N. :Cries: Does anyone else think that Kairi should've sacrificed herself instead? Anyway, this is basically a novelization of the saddest part in the entire game, and I really hope I did it justice. Let me know what you think! **


End file.
